Serbian Government Considers Resolution to Officially Condemn the Srebrenica Massacre without using the Term ‘Genocide’

By Elizabeth A. Conger
Impunity Watch, Europe

BELGRADE, Serbia – Serbia’s parliament is considering the adoption of a long-awaited resolution whereby the Serbian government would officially condemn the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. The speaker of the Serbian parliament, Slavica Đukić-Dejanović, said that the resolution should be ready by March, despite wrangling in the Serbian parliament over use of the term ‘genocide’ to describe the mass killings.

The massacre at Srebrenica is the largest mass-murder to have occurred in Europe since the end of the second world war. Despite its designation as a U.N. ‘safe-zone,’ Bosnian Serb forces under the command of General Ratko Mladić murdered roughly 8,000 Muslim men and boys at the Bosnian enclave of Srebrenica in July of 1995. Mladić, wanted by the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for charges of genocide and war crimes, still remains at large.

The Srebrenica massacre was designated as a genocide by the ICTY and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In its ruling, the ICTY did not hold Serbia responsible for the genocide, but said that it was responsible for doing nothing to prevent the massacre.

In an interview with the newspaper Blic, Đukić-Dejanović said that sixty-seven percent of Serbians condemn the massacre. “It is our duty to respect their opinion and adopt a resolution [condemning the massacre]. I think it will be done between now and early March.”

Lawmakers in the ruling coalition are reportedly working on the text of the resolution. Opposition Liberal Democrats have singularly insisted that the term ‘genocide’ be used, while other parties have sought alternate terminology. The Serbian Progressive Party’s (SNS) deputy leader, Aleksandar Vučić, indicated that his party may not support a resolution incorporating the term ‘genocide.’

 When asked whether she would support a resolution incorporating the term ‘genocide,’ Đukić-Dejanović said that she would vote the way her parliamentary coalition voted, and that they were currently satisfied with the term ‘crime.’

 Nenad Prokić, of the Opposition Liberal Democratic Party, said:

 “We are the first country that is entering the EU with genocide in our suitcase – [a] limited territorial genocide. That is a very serious thing in a union based on peace…It is most important for us to recommend to our society and enter it into our schooling…so no one will ever do that in our name again.”

 For more information, please see:

B92 – Still no consensus on Srebrenica resolution – 8 February 2010

Blic – The adequate expression for Srebrenica is ‘crime’ – 8 February 2010

BSANNA – Resolution on Srebrenica to be adopted in early March – 8 February 2010

Javno – Serbian parliament to mull Srebrenica resolution – 8 February 2010

Egyptian Police Arrest Muslim Brotherhood Leaders

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – Egyptian police forces have detained at least thirteen prominent members of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest opposition political party, ahead of parliamentary elections later this year.

Those arrested on February 8 include Mahmoud Ezzat, the Muslim Brotherhood’s deputy leader, and two members of the party’s Guidance Council, Dr. Essam el-Erian and Abdul Rahman el-Bir. A spokesman for the Egyptian Ministry of the Interior confirmed the arrests, only saying the men had been detained for “illegal activities.”

The Muslim Brotherhood has been banned in Egypt since 1954, though government officials have allowed it to operate somewhat openly, yet members have been frequent target of government arrests. The party is part of the wider Muslim Brotherhood, which operates throughout the Middle East and advocates establishing Islamic states under the rule of Islamic law. The group’s aim has often been seen as a threat to Egypt’s secular, often authoritarian government. Arrests of Muslim Brotherhood members became more frequent in 2009 as they publically opposed the Egyptian government’s decision to keep its border with the Gaza Strip sealed, even as the Israeli blockade on Gaza tighetened.

Since parliamentary elections in 2005, Muslim Brotherhood representatives have held twenty percent of the Egyptian Parliament, under an “independent” party classification, making the group the largest opposition block in the Parliament. A statement on the Muslim Brotherhood’s website called for the leaders’ release, saying, “[s]uch arrests will not deter them from the way they have chosen for attaining the country’s welfare.”

On January16, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt appointed a new leader, Mohammed al-Badie, a 66-year-old veterinary professor. Prof. al-Badie has since expressed his wish for a peaceful relationship with the current Egyptian government, headed by President Hosni Mubarak: “We affirm that the Brotherhood is not for one day an adversary to the regime.”

After Prof. al-Badie was appointed, he emphasized the Muslim Brotherhood’s well-known public rejection of violence, saying his goal was to “show the world the true Islam, the Islam of moderation and forgiveness that respects pluralism in the whole world.”

After news of the February 8 arrests became known, Amnesty International called on Egyptian authorities “to stop their crackdown on peaceful political dissent and uphold the rights to freedoms of expression, association and assembly.”

For more information, please see:

Wall Street Journal – Egypt Arrests Opposition Leaders – 9 February 2010

Al Jazeera – Egypt Arrests Brotherhood Members – 8 February 2010

BBC News – Egypt Detains Muslim Brotherhood Leaders – 8 February 2010

Voice of America – Egyptian Police Arrest Top Muslim Brotherhood Figures – 8 February 2010

Belarusian Journalist Imprisoned After Clash With Police

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MINSK, Belarus – Ivan Shulha, a journalist for one of the few remaining independent media outlets operating in Belarus, was convicted of disorderly conduct and sentenced in ten days of jail after he allegedly clashed with police this past week.

Shulha, also a member of the nongovernmental organization Belarusian Association of Journalists, was arrested on Wednesday while police were attempting to enter the Minsk apartment of Michal Janczuka, a reporter for a Polish television network and coordinator of Belsat TV in Belarus.  When the police arrived at the apartment, those journalists present, including Shulha, initially refused to allow the police to enter.  After they eventually entered the apartment, Shulha was placed under arrest.  He was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after he allegedly struck one of the officers at the scene.

Belarus reporter
Photo: Belsat TV journalist Ivan Shulha [Source: RFE]

Shulha is employed by Belsat TV, a media outlet based in Poland.  Belsat was created in 2007 by the Polish Foreign Ministry as a way to provide news coverage within Belarus that would not be under the control of the Belarusian government.  Belsat employees independent journalists to work in and cover free speech issues in Belarus.  By being a journalist accredited in Poland, Shulha is able to avoid having to go through the same process in Belarus.  An Belarusian accreditation process was recently enacted by the federal government as a way to control the remaining independent media outlets.

Belarusian law enforcement authorities have stated that they were attempting to enter Janczuk’s apartment after they had received noise complaints concerning that apartment.  Critics, however, point to this action by the police as just another example of the Belarusian government attempting to gain greater control over any opposition forces in the country.  They point to the recently enacted legislation giving the federal government the authority to monitor the internet use of individual in the nation as evidence of this.

In response to Shulha’s arrest, Belsat’s director Agnieszka Romaszewska declared that “the actions by the Belarusian authorities towards Belsat TV channel are another attempt to impede journalistic activity and discredit independent journalists.”

For more information, please see:

FROM THE OLD – Belarus – Authorities step up pressure on independent journalists – 5 February 2010

CHARTER 97 – Agnieszka Romaszewska: Repressions won’t influence our position – 4 February 2010

POLSKIE RADIO – Belsat TV journalist accused of assaulting policeman – 4 February 2010

RADIO FREE EUROPE – Belarusian Journalist Jailed For Hooliganism – 4 February 2010

Missionaries Murdered for Helping Amazon Indigenous

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Photo Courtesy of Daylife.com

PARÁ, Brazil-The landowner accused of ordering the murder of Sister Dorothy Stang in the Amazon in 2005 has been ordered back to jail.  Sister Dorothy Stang worked on behalf of the indigenous community and for rainforest preservation. Vitalmiro Bastos Moura “Bida” was originally convicted for the killing in 2007. The verdict was overturned a year later and he is now facing a retrial.

Sister Dorothy Stang was seventy-three and had lived in Brazil for thirty years when she was shot six times as she walked along a muddy rainforest trail. She was left to die in the mud.

The thirty year sentence is the maximum in Brazil and  legislation requires a second trial to confirm the sentence. At the second trial, Bida was found not guilty. Yesterday an appellate court ordered him back to jail, with a majority of the judges agreeing with a lawsuit filed by government attorneys, which annulled the second trial.

The man who is believed to have ordered and paid for the murder is another landowning farmer, Regivaldo Pereira Galvao, also known as Taradao (“Big Pervert”), has been indicted but never tried.

Estimates are that hundreds of people have been killed in land disputes in the state of Pará in the last few decades, with few prosecutions. Despite the international outrage, missionaries who campaign on behalf of the poor in the Amazon region face death threats and reportedly need police protection to do their work.

For more information, please see:

AP-Suspect in Slaying of U.S. Nun in Brazil is Back in Jail, New Trial Expected This Year-7 February 2010

BBC-Brazil Man Accused of Nun Murder Back in Jail-7 February 2010

Sydney Morning Herald-Brazilian Linked to Nun’s Death Jailed-7 February 2010

New Zealand Immigration Scam Targets Pacific Islanders

By Eileen Gould
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – New Zealand immigration officials have warned Pacific Islanders that they may be the targets of a possible immigration scam.

Both Immigration New Zealand and the Ministry of the Pacific Island Affairs have advised Pacific people not to travel to Waitangi in order to gain New Zealand citizenship.

The immigration scam, according to the New Zealand Labour Department, promotes citizenship and residency to individuals who are unable to gain permanent status, also known as overstayers.

Overstayers are being promised citizenship if the Maori tribe (or hapu) adopts them.

It is expected that many overstayers will travel to Waitangi because they were told that in exchange for $1,000 they would be able to gain citizenship from Ngapuhi elder by being adopted into the hapu.

A Ngapuhi elder claims that Pacific peoples will be welcomed but there are no plans to grant them citizenship.

Earlier this week, One News broke the news of this alleged immigration scam.

Former Maori vice-president of the National Party, Rahiri Dargaville, labeled the Ngapuhi elder’s comments as ‘misleading’ and that there was no intention to grant Pacific people citizenship.

Mr. Dargaville further stated that “[p]olarizing such issues using the media is not in keeping with Ngapuhi customs and traditions”.

The Immigration department requested those who may have been subjected to the scam to be report it to the police.

In assessing the accuracy of information presented to Pacific people, the chief executive of the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, Dr. Colin Tukuitonga, advised these individuals that its probably a scam if it sounds too good to be true.  “Only Immigration NZ or people licensed by them are able to issue permits.  Don’t give your money to a fraudster.”

In order to remain in New Zealand, Immigration NZ has the sole responsibility for the authorization of the visas.

Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman stated that “[a]doption into a hapu will not legally confer citizenship or residency upon anyone.”

Pacific people should be aware that individuals authorized to give advice on immigration in New Zealand must hold a license or be exempt from the license requirement under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act.

For more information please see:
Fiji Times Online – Warning over NZ immigration scam – 04 February 2010

New Zealand Herald – No plans to ‘adopt’ Tongan overstayers – Ngapuhi elder – 03 February 2010

Radio New Zealand – Overstayers told citizenship not available at Waitangi – 03 February 2010

TVNZ – Tongan overstayers warned over immigration scam – 03 February 2010